<p>anyone had a child that backpacked europe during the summer? son wants to do it, but i am looking for a reputable tour he could join…dont like the idea of just being on his own.
any suggestions for a good tour company… hostel/backpack type</p>
<p>How fun!!! Good idea to do it with a group. Safety in numbers. :)</p>
<p>he could probably handle it on his own…its me that cant LOL</p>
<p>googling found contiki and efcollegebreak… these seem to be organized tours, bus tours, hostel/hotel . anyone try these?</p>
<p>I would also appreciate any information regarding backbacking in Europe. My daughter would like to do this but only for three weeks.</p>
<p>My own experience was too long ago…great memories!!</p>
<p>Check with your local HI hostel. HI USA has some great programs/resources and may be able to point your S in the right direction.
[Hostelling</a> International USA](<a href=“http://www.hiusa.org/travel_resources/travel_links]Hostelling”>http://www.hiusa.org/travel_resources/travel_links)</p>
<p>During college, I took a 3-week camping tour in Europe with a company similar to Kon-tiki. It was cheap, but they tried to fit too much into the itinerary and we spent way too much time on the bus. Although there were a few nights in hostels, most nights we slept in tents. The schedule was completely inflexible, so if we were scheduled to camp, we camped, whether it was raining cats and dogs or not. Nothing ever dried out and most of the group was sick by the end of the trip. </p>
<p>The next summer, I went back on my own with a Eurail pass. Much better. My experience was a long time ago, but I’d let my own kid do this in preference to a cheap tour group, especially since it is a lot easier to keep in touch via email than it used to be.</p>
<p>S is in Europe on semester abroad right now. He’s doing a lot of weekend trips, some organized by tour groups and some on his own with friends. </p>
<p>The Study Abroad coordinator at his college held an orientation on campus before S left, and he picked up the following bits of advice, which he said have worked out well:</p>
<p>1) Buy a “sleeping bag liner”. We got a silk one at EMS, it was $60 but includes an attached pillow cover. It rolls up into a very small bag. Use it instead of sheets (many hostels provide a blanket and pillow, but no sheets). S says it works well.</p>
<p>2) Buy a hiking towel. Again, we got this at EMS, about $30. It’s very thin and folds up quite small, but it’s super-absorbent. (My son calls it his “sham-wow.”) He says it works quite well. I bought one big enough to wrap around him, to walk to/from the shower if necessary. </p>
<p>I also got him a small “clothes line” at EMS, he can hook it on things in the room and use it to hang the towel to dry. Not sure if he’s used it, though.</p>
<p>For cell phones, we had his AT&T phone “unlocked” and bought a European sim card online thru Telestial. Then his phone broke (it was old), so he bought a Vodaphone in Spain for about 20 Euro. It works sort of like a Go-phone here, you pre-pay for minutes and you can re-charge it online. The best way we’ve found to communicate is email and Skype, which is FREE. But that requires a laptop, which your kid may not want to bring.</p>
<p>With the Schengen Visa and the Euro, traveling around continental Europe is actually not all that hard!</p>
<p>no tour, he should make his on way through europe, that’s what makes it fun…the adventure! but i would recommend a buddy. the buddy system is the best approach for safety for any young people traveling, europe or the us.</p>
<p>maybe we could form our own group? the eurorail thing sounds good that way they can pick cities they want, get off and on as they want, would be easy to pick hotels or hostels online to book , i would just like at least one or two other people,</p>
<p>lafalum sorry what is EMS, and schengen visa?</p>
<p>My best friend and I went this summer (We’re 17). It was the BEST experience of my life. We pre-booked flights and Hostels. We went from Paris to Berlin to Rome in a month. But I would really only suggest it if your kid is mature and responsible. And he can’t be afraid of going out and braving the cities.</p>
<p>While lots of people opt for Eurorail, remember that it may end up being a lot cheaper to fly these days. There are TONS of lowcost airlines in Europe and it’s faster than taking the train, and a lot of younger travellers prefer to do at least a few legs now by plane. Even if you get a Eurorail pass, every time you take a train you have to pay a reservation fee. When I did it it was 15-20 Euros per reservation, and then if you were taking a sleeper train, an extra 35 or so for a couchette. Not too bad, but it depends on how many places you plan to visit. </p>
<p>I did it when I was 18 just with another female friend. It was awesome, very safe, and we had a great time. We also had a lot of people to stay with across Europe, friends, former exchange students we had hosted, family members, so we weren’t in hostels the whole time, but doing it by train and hostel is very easy and safe. We had a guidebook (Let’s Go Europe, much much better and cheaper than Lonely Planet), a train pass, and a loose itinerary. </p>
<p>I would not recommend going in a group of more than two or tree, unless you are going on an organized tour where everything will be laid out for you. Bigger groups make everything harder - planning the itinerary, finding restarants that can seat five or more people, finding hostels with room for all of you, deciding on things to do that everyone can agree on, etc etc etc. Way better for him to go with a friend or two, but not more.</p>
<p>Also, about the guide book GET ONE. It is a 20 dollar investment that will save your kid ultimately hundreds. They’ll never have to worry about where to eat or sleep or go or need to buy a map to get around a city. I just tore out pages from my big Europe guidebook and stuck them in my pocket when I went exploring, so I wouldn’t need the whole tome. </p>
<p>And don’t just look at HI hostels. They often fill up the fastest and are not the best. Try to stay in independent hostels listed in your guidebook, more likely to have openings, better rates, and a better experience. </p>
<p>And DON’T BOTHER getting one of those ISC international student ID cards. They are a huge rip off. They can use their high school student IDs just fine. Half the time they didn’t even look at our ID cards because we were obviously student age.</p>
<p>Also, about the guide book GET ONE. It is a 20 dollar investment that will save your kid ultimately hundreds. They’ll never have to worry about where to eat or sleep or go or need to buy a map to get around a city. I just tore out pages from my big Europe guidebook and stuck them in my pocket when I went exploring, so I wouldn’t need the whole tome. </p>
<p>And don’t just look at HI hostels. They often fill up the fastest and are not the best. Try to stay in independent hostels listed in your guidebook, more likely to have openings, better rates, and a better experience. </p>
<p>And DON’T BOTHER getting one of those ISC international student ID cards. They are a huge rip off. They can use their high school student IDs just fine. Half the time they didn’t even look at our ID cards because we were obviously student age.</p>
<p>2-3 people does sound like the best way to do it, thanks for the HI and let’s go info. all up in the air until college decision made, and of course finding others to go.</p>
<p>Also, be sure to have your S get an ISIC card -it is recognized all over the world for discounts [ISIC</a> - International Student Identity Card - ISIC.org](<a href=“http://www.isic.org/home.aspx]ISIC”>http://www.isic.org/home.aspx) and
STA is a student travel source you may want to check out [Buy</a> travel essentials | STA Travel | Essentials](<a href=“http://www.statravel.com/cps/rde/xchg/us_division_web_live/hs.xsl/travel-essentials.htm]Buy”>http://www.statravel.com/cps/rde/xchg/us_division_web_live/hs.xsl/travel-essentials.htm)</p>
<p>I did the Eurail pass thing by myself. Originally, I planned to go with a friend, but she was prevented from going at the last minute–I had already bought tickets, etc. and couldn’t find another friend on such short notice, so I went alone. It turned out much better than I expected–it was very easy to meet people to travel and sightsee with for a few days and no problem to move on when we had different interests or just got tired of each other. </p>
<p>My sister did it with her best friend and they were not getting along very well by the end of the trip. I’ve known others who decided to split up with their travel partners after a while because they weren’t getting along.</p>
<p>Anyway, its important to choose travel companions carefully. Going alone isn’t bad. A good travel partner is someone that you want to spend a LOT of time with, not someone chosen just for the sake of not being alone.</p>
<p>DS backpacked through Europe for 7 weeks after graduating college. He wasn’t with a group, but traveled with four friends. They researched everything for months before they left and had a terrific experience. I honestly think he may have learned as much in those seven weeks as he did in four years of college.</p>
<p>I traveled both alone and with friends at various times when I was young. On the whole friends was more fun though we occasionally had disagreements about our budget. I don’t think we ever had problems with what to see. When I was alone I sometimes met up with other friends from the US who were doing the same thing I was (can’t remember how we met up without cell phones!) and sometimes I’d get together with other young travelers at tourist offices and the like. I’d have hated traveling with an organized group.</p>